No idea how many people celebrate here, but I figure since I celebrate both this and Xmas (parents of 2 different backgrounds here), I'd give this a whirl.

But I'm totally skipping A because I'm all about

B - Brisket's in the oven 8•D

C - Challah Bread for the table...

D - Dreidel (DRAYY-dul)...More info here...

E - Eight days, the oil for the sacred lights burned...

LOL! Planning on going through the whole thing yourself? 8•P

F - Finding the perfect present.

G - Gimel (GHYM-ul)...Third letter of the Semitic Alphabet and one of the four symbols on a dreidel...

H - He (Chayy)...Fifth letter of the Semitic Alphabet and another of the four symbols on a dreidel...

Enuff now...Someone else continue...

I - Icing macaroons

J - Jewish.

That about covers my knowledge of the holiday :-P

(Actually I do know a little bit nore... most of which I learned from The Simpsons... as is the case for most of the stuff I know about US history and geography)

K - Kugel (KOOH-gul)

L - Latkes (LAHHT-kuh)

M - Menorah...Eight or nine station candleabra representing the eight nights of Chanukkah...Most menorahs accomodate 9 candles, the ninth being the Shamash (meaning "attendant") which sits higher and is used to light the other candles...A total of 44 candles (including the Shamash) are used in the Menorah during the eight days...

N - Nun...Fourteenth letter of the Semitic Alphabet, and another of the four symbols on a dreidel...

isn't that a little... ironic? ;-)

O-Oil (from my dear friend who celebrates :)

P - Psalms 30, 67, and 91.

Or..

"Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther." (Courtesy of wikipedia.org.)

Maoz Tzur

"Each night after the lighting of the candles, the hymn Ma'oz Tzur is sung. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in Jewish history, and praises God for survival despite these tragedies (the exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, the miracle of the holiday of Purim, and the Hasmonean victory)." (Courtesy of wikipedia.org.)


I tell ya, that Esther.. really knows how to light up a celebration. (Courtesy of CookieMonster.)

Q - Quarters (sometimes dollars)...for when the old-timers clear out the kids, and commandeer the dreidle spin...

R - Recipes for favorite dishes that are exchanged in the kitchen amongst family and friends...

S - Shin (Shynn)...Twenty-first letter of the Semitic Alphabet and the last of the four symbols on a dreidel...

T - tapers for the Menorah.

U - 'U going to eat that last latke?'

V - Very Shiny Gelt.

W - Warm knishes.

X - XBox...So the kids stay outta the kitchen and let the meal get prepared in relative peace...

Y - Yellow onion goes in the latkes.

(No, no I am not obsessed with latkes. Whatever gives you THAT idea?)

Z = ZZZzzzZZZ

*Nighty Nite*

A - applesauce for the Latkes. *slurp*.

Oh. Were you going to eat that?

B - Baruch Hashem Adonai ! (Blessed be the Name of the Lord)

C - Chanukah. Relevant, at least...

D - Dreidel Song :)